Genesis 22 and a Lasting Lesson That Can be Seen Through World War One

World War One. Those three words on their own tell a long, bloody, and messy story. A story about death, greed, violence, and much more. One of the deadliest wars in human history, nearly thirty seven million soldiers and civilians were estimated to have perished due to the war. Many of those who died, especially among the soldiers, were young men who sacrificed themselves in the name of their nation. A stark comparison can be drawn between the obscene violence of World War One and an unlikely source: The Book of Genesis. Specifically, when Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac as instructed by God in Genesis 22. 

A Poet for a Generation

Born in 1893, Wilfrid Owen was drafted into the British Army. There, Owen saw first hand the graphic violence that occured at the front lines of the bloody World War One battlegrounds. Through these experiences, Owen wrote several poems about the horrors and senseless violence that occurred during the war. One of the most profound, insightful, yet simple and short of these poems is titled “The Parable of the Old Man and the Young.” In this poem, Owen compares the droves of young male soldiers to the near sacrifice of Isaac at the hands of his own father Abraham. Although this comparison at first glance may seem like a strange one to make, looking further into the context behind why the poem was written in the first place and why the poem was so important and relatable reveals the full story.

Wilfrid Owen in his British Army Uniform

Uncanny Parallels, yet Important Differences 

One of the most important parallels between Owen’s poem and Genesis 22 is the sacrifice of young men in the name of a “greater good.” In Genesis, the greater good I am referring to here is of course validation from God, while in the poem, the greater good is victory and glory for the mother country. Another parallel between the two works is that the young men in both writings had little to no choice but to sacrifice themselves by submitting to authority. During the early 20th century soldiers as a rule did not question authority, and it was considered dishonorable to do so. In Genesis, Isaac has to listen to his father as he is, well, his father whose word was final. In Owen’s poem, many of the young soldiers were either forcefully drafted into the army or were manipulated via patriotic propaganda to join the frontlines. In addition, Owen uses a detached tone throughout the poem, much like a Biblical narrative. This stylistic feature has the effect of making Owen seem cavalier to the widespread death and suffering, much like the leaders of European superpowers were during World War One. Lastly, Owen alludes to various key elements of the front lines of World War One in the context of Genesis, such as the use of parapets and trenches. 

Despite the similarities, there is one important difference between the two works. In Genesis, despite Abraham’s preparations, he never goes through with killing Isaac because God instructed him not to. The sacrificial setup was merely a test of Abrahams’s loyalty to God. Conversely, in Owen’s poem, Abraham is depicted as killing Isaac and “…half the seed of Europe, one by one.” As a parallel Abraham, in the context of the war, can be compared to the military heads of the nations. Unlike in Genesis, the “Abrahams” of the war were more than willing to sacrifice their own “Isaac’s” in order to please their nations which were worshipped like “God.”

Context is Key

The title of the poem itself reveals a lot about the intentions and deeper meanings of the poem. Owen describes his poem as a parable which is a moral and/or religious lesson. His comparison using a section of the Bible was also meant to help get his point across to the majority of Europeans. Most Europeans were somewhat religious at the time, and a religious metaphor would help convey his message. But what is his message?

The Messenger

Owen’s message in the poem is clearly an antiwar one. He is saying that young soldiers do not need to needlessly die in order to prove loyalty to the greater nation, just as Isaac did not need to be sacrificed in order for Abraham to prove himself loyal to God. Owen wants to make the reader wary of the potential disastrous consequences when patriotism is used as a tool for mass manipulation. 

Aaron Shapiro is a Freshman at Colgate University. He is planning on majoring in history.